Car coupler



Jan. 18, 1927. 1,614,516 w J. WILLISON CAR COUPLER Filed Jan. 31, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Jan. 18, 1927.

UNITED STATES 1,614,516 PATENT oFFicE.

JOHN WILLISOIN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOB. T NATIONAL IMALLEABLE AND STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY, CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

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Application filed January 31, 1924.

Fig. 1 is a plan partly .in section of a coupler head embodying my invention with the lock in coupled or locked position; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is a plan similar to Fig. 1 but with the lock in its rearward position, or unlocked position; Fig. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a plan similar to Fig. 3 but with the lock swung l0 laterally ready to drop into the lock-set groove; Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a perspective of the lock; Fig. 8 is a similar view to Fig. 1 but with the lock removed; and Figs. 9

and 10 are sections, respectively, on the lines 9-9 of Fig. 4 and 1010 of Fig. 6.

My invention relates to car couplers of the vertical plane type such as are shown in my Letters Patent No. 1,201,665, dated October 17, 1916, and in my co-pending application No. 442,359, filed February 4, 1921, in which the coupler comprises a coupler head, a lock and a suitable actuating mechanism for the lock. The present invention particularly comprises so forming the lock and the cor-.

responding and cooperating parts of the coupler head that its locking and lock-setting movements are rendered extremely reliable even when couplings are effected at a comparatively high speed. My invention also comprises the various features which I shall hereinafter describe and claim.

Referring to the drawings, the coupler is comprised of a coupler head 2, having a buffing jaw 3 and a pulling jaw 4 connected by a bufiing face 5 arranged on an axis inclined laterally to the line of draft. The pulling jaw 4 has a laterally extending recess 6 to receive the complementary jaw 3 of the opposing coupler head and its pulling face 7 engages a complementary face 8 on the bufling of the opposing coupler.

The lock 9 of the coupler operates in a pocket 10 which extends upwardly and rearwardly from the buffing face 5 into the coupler head. The lock has a rearwardly extending tail or guiding portion 11 and a downward extension or leg 12 which projects downwardly through a slot 13 in the floor of the coupler head. The tail 11 of the lock is, however, wider than the slot 13 and there fore has a bearing on the floor of the pocket at either side of the slot 13. In the floor of the forward part of the lock pocket 10 are the grooves 14 and 15. The groove 14 Serial No. 689,670.

serves as a guide for the lock during its normal coupling and uncoupling movements, while the groove 15 carries the lock when in lock-set position. I

The floor of the pocket is preferably in the form of a curve, which terminates in a raised surface 16. The surface 16 has an incline a and a face 6 meeting in apeak. The incline a is of greater extent than the face 6, and slopes toward the pulling jaw 4 of the coupler, while the smaller face I) is here shown sloping toward the buffing jaw side of the coupler. The under surface of the tail 11 of the lock has an inclination 18 corresponding to the incline a, and, accordingly, when the tail 11 of the lock is in engagement with the incline a the tendency of the tail 11 of the lock is to drift laterally toward the pulling jaw side of the coupler. This lateral movement of the tail of the look toward the pulling jaw brings the leg of the lock in contact with the side of the slot 13 toward the pulling jaw, thus causing a rotative movement of the lock approximately about its point of engagement with the side of the slot 13. This results in a constant tendency of the forward portionof the lock to rotate toward the bailing jaw side and thus its normal movement is to enter the groove and slide down the groove 14, as is indicated in Figs. 3 and 4. hen the lock is driven rearwardly under impact of an opposing coupler its movement is resisted by the resistance of its tail as it rises over the incline a, and its tendency is to drift away from instead of toward the locl:set groove 15, thereby diminishing the possibility of its being thrown into such groove 15 on a rebound when under a coupling impact. The rearward extent of the tail 11 of the look also acts to prevent the rearward tilting of the lock and accordingly to minimize the liability of the look from being displaced laterally from the locking groove 14 into the lock-set groove 15.

The under side of the coupler head to the rear of the slot 13 has a depending projection 20, which extends transversely of the coupler head. The forward face 21 of the projection 20 preferably inclines from the bufiing jaw side to the rear and provides a lock-set fulcrum. When the lock is actuated by either top or bottom uncoupling rods 22 or 23 (shown in Fig. 2) it is pulled rearwardly until its downwardly extending leg 12 engages the fulcrum face 21 of the projection 20. Continued pulling causes rotation of the lock in a vertical plane about the point of contact of its leg 12 with the face 21 until its forward part has been lifted out of the guiding groove let. The lock 9 will then have a rotary motion in a transverse direction approximately about the axis X-X indicated in Fig. 6, as the pull on the lock is exerted at a point laterally offset from the point of contact of the lock leg, which, as is shown in Figs. 5 and 6, will swing the look into position to drop down into the lock-set groove 15 as soon the lifter is released.

Couplers constructed in accordance with my invention are extremely effective in coupling operations because of the provision which prevents the locks from being thrown into lock-set position even under severe impact coupling conditions, and the lock-setting operations are also rendered very reliable.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equivalents of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognize that various various structural modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

lVhat I claim is:

1. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a lock movable in the cavity longitudinally of the coupler to assume a projected locking position and a retracted unlocking position, the lock having a rearwardly extending guiding portion en gaging the floor of the coupler arranged to maintain the lock in position to be projected into locking position.

2. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a lock movable in the cavity longitudinally of the coupler to assume a projected locking position, a retracted unlocking position and an elevated locksetting position, the lock and the coupler having a projection and recess engagement in such lock-set position, the lock also having a rearwardly extending guiding portion engaging a portion of the coupler arranged to prevent the lock from accidentally assuming a lock-set position.

3. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a lock movable in the cavity longitudinally of the coupler to assume a projected locking position and a retracted unlocking position, the lock having a depending leg arranged on retraction of the lock to engage a depending projection on the bottom of the coupler head and upon such engagement to be swung into lock-set position.

4. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a lock movable in the cavity longitudinally of the coupler to assume a projected locking position and a retracted unlocking position, the lock having a depending leg, a depending projection on the coupler head having an inclined forward face, and means for retracting the lock into engagement with said inclined forward face whereby the lock is rotated into position for lock-setting.

5. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a lock movable in the cavity longitudinally of the coupler to as sume a projected locking position, a retracted unlocking position, and a lock-setting position, and means within the coupler cavity for preventing the lock from moving into lo-clrsetting position except when actuated by the uncoupling mechanism.

6. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a lock movable in the cavity longitudinally of the coupler to assume a projected locking position and aretracted unlocking position, a lockin" roove 2: and a loclcsctting grove in the floor bf the coupler head, means in the coupler head for normally guiding the lock into the locking groove as it is projected or retracted, and means 011 the exterior of the coupler for moving the lock into the lock-set groove.

7. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a lock movable in the cavity longitudinally of the coupler to as sume. a projected locking position and a retracted unlocking position, and means for tilting said lock rearwardly to assume a lock set position.

8. A car coupler having two rigid oppositely disposed jaws, the coupler having a cavity therebetween, a guide in the cavity extending longitudinally of the coupler, a lock movable in the guide to assume a projected locking position and a retracted unlocking position, the coupler head having a recess therein adjacent said guide, and means whereby the lock on actuation by the uncoupling mechanism is tilted into a position to slide into the lock-set recess.

JOHN VJILLISON. 

